Contact printer



NOV. 5, 1968 R MQORHUSEN ET AL 3,409,365

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United States Patent Office 3,409,365 Patented Nov. 5, 1968 3,409,365 CONTACT PRINTER Robert W. Moorhusen and Douglas E. Webb, Webster, and Edwin Zucker, Rochester, N.Y., assignors to Xerox Corporation, Rochester, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Oct. 1, 1965, Ser. No. 491,935 12 Claims. (Cl. 95-75) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The step and repeat contacting printing apparatus is capable of mass producing high resolution prints from large size high contrast negatives onto a web of sensitized duplicating mate-rial. The apparatus includes an automatic exposure control system, a high speed threading and transport system, and a material gating mechanism for effect.- ing pressure contact of the negative and duplicating material in relation to the exposure thereof.

This invention relates to photography and, more particularly to apparatus for contact exposure of raw photographic materials from photographic negatives.

In contact printing, as the name implies and as understood in the art, sensitized duplicating film, paper, or the like, is exposed while in physical contact with a negative to be reproduced. As used herein, the term negative is intended to encompass a transparency on which the image can be either a negative or positive in a photographic sense. Generally speaking, care must be exercised for selecting the proper exposure for the differing densities on the negative so that a proper tonal reproduction may be had on the positive print. A common method to control exposure in contact printing is by the use of one or more lights in conjunction with an optical system made up of adjustable filters and mirrors to compensate for the variable density areas on the negative, as indicated, for example, in U.S. Patent 3,141,398. By this technique, with each different negative exposed, time consuming adjustments must be made to the optics to compensate for uniform illumination of the light and dark areas on the negative. This type of exposure system is also limited by the frame size which it can uniformly illuminate.

With the present day demand for mass production of photographic exposures of the highest possible quality, resolution, and acutance from roll film negatives, such as those used in aerial photography, the existing systems are generally unsuitable. The exposure control of the contact printer must be capable of not only responding to varying density levels on the negative film and compensating for them, but must also accommodate frame sizes which vary, for example, from 70 millimeters to about inches in width and up to about 30 inches in length. To meet these requirements, a contact printer requires an automatic exposure control having maximum information transfer with built-in flexibility to compensate for characteristics in both the negative and duplicating film while maintaining a resolution in the film print as high as .800 lines/ mm.

Associated with this problem of mass production is the capability of the contact printer to enable selection of the proper frame to be reproduced from a roll of film that could extend in length, for example, to several hundred feet, and to rapidly position that frame for contact printing without incurring film damage. It has been found that even slight stresses to delicate film, such as that used in aerial photography, tends to stretch or otherwise distort the image thereon and, therefore, detract from the degree of dimensional integrity required in this type of photography. Moreover, a contact printer for modern day usage must be capable of not only making high resolution prints from high quality negatives on a mass production basis but, as a practical matter, must also be capable of handling films that may vary in width and thickness without undue physical contact from the transport apparatus to the surface of the films during transport.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a high precision automatic contact printer capable of producing photographs of high quality resolution and acutance from roll film negatives.

Another object of this invention is to provide contact printer apparatus having an automatic exposure control system for effecting high print rates.

Still another object of this invention is to provide contact printer apparatus wherein firm film contact is maintained during printing so as to obtain prints of high reliability.

Still another object of this invention is to provide contact printer apparatus capable of selecting a film frame to be reproduced from roll film negatives.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide contact printer apparatus having a film transport system capable of efiiciently handling different size film rolls with minimum contact.

Yet still another object of this invention is to provide contact printer apparatus wherein proper film slack is maintained during film transport.

These and other features and objects of the invention will be apparent from the following description and from the drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the exterior of the contact printer apparatus hereof;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged view of the control panel;

FIGURE 3 is an isometric view of the contact printer apparatus;

FIGURE 4 is a side elevation of the contact printer with the doors removed;

FIGURE 5 is an end view of the contact printer apparatus;

FIGURE 6 is a plan view of the window shade assemy;

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged view of the storage loop assembly with portions broken away to show internal structure;

FIGURE 8 is a front view of FIGURE 7;

FIGURE 9 is a view of the variable coefficient damper assembly with portions broken away to show internal structure;

FIGURE 10 is a view of the transport capstan assembly;

FIGURE 11 is a block diagram of the system for starting and stopping the film transport;

FIGURE 12 is a longitudinal sectional view of the film drive support;

FIGURES 13A through 13F are sectional views of the film drive support taken along lines A-A through F'F, respectively, of FIGURE 12;

FIGURES 14 and 15 are a plan and side view, respectively, of the articulated idler assembly;

FtIGURES 16 and 17 are side elevation and plan views, 

